We see in the story the Havamal1 that the God Odin hung on a tree (possibly Yggdrasil – the World Tree) for nine days and nights. The first six represent the God himself and the last three make up his spear, Gungnir. The set up looks like so:

Odin's Nine Layout

The layout image isn’t much the way it looks here. Numbers 1 and 5 are suppose to be Odin’s legs and feet, numbers 2 and 6 are his arms and hands, number 3 is his body and number 4 is his head. The spear is standing up at Odin’s side and consists on numbers 7, 8 and 9. If you use a great deal of imagination you may start to see how the picture is suppose to look. To read this layout follow this guide.

The column with numbers 1 and 2 represent the past factors that have acted on the question you have asked.

1 – Hidden influences that acted in the past

2 – The questioner’s present attitude to these past events

The column with numbers 3 and 4 represent the present forces on the question.

3 – Hidden influences acting now

4 – The questioner’s attitude toward the present events

The column with the number 5 and 6 represent the outcome of the question.

The Armanen rune set, like other sets, has a difficult history to pin-point where and when it was established. Some will say that this set was originally developed by Guido List, while others will tell you that List followed the previous works of a scholar named Johannes Bureus. However, either way you look at it List’s work varies enough from previous scholar’s work to make the Armanen rune set one worth having a look at.

Gudio List (1848-1919) was the founder of a school of German rune work. The contributions to the study and preservation of the runes may be one of the reasons that we know as much about the runes as we do today. That’s not to say that all that List had taught was to be held as truth. In fact List claimed that his Armanen rune set was not only older than the Elder Futhark but that his set had laid the groundwork for the Elder Futhark as well as other rune sets.

It is said that the Armanen rune set came to List in a vision one day after he had become temporarily blind from an eye surgery. He envisioned 18 runes that were said to be the original rune set and the most ancient script for the Aryan race. However, if we look closely at the 18 runes we’ll notice that List simply took various Scandinavian rune sets, used from those sets various rune staves and then added 2 more to get a total of 18 rune staves for his set – which incidentally is the number of runes talked about in the Hávamál (Sayings of the High One – Part of the Elder Edda).

As far as the divinatory meanings for List’s runes we can see a close connection to the meanings of the Younger Futhork. However, with List’s set there are different meanings for daemoniums (reversed runes) as well as different names1. The use of this set among Germans and people in German speaking countries seems to be very widespread. However, since this set has ties to Socialist German, the Nazi party and in some aspects even to Hitler, we see this set being used less by modern day rune casters.

After an eye operation Guido List claimed to have had a vision where he saw the “original” set of runes. He claimed that these runes were the runes that all other rune-rows were based on. Having 18 runes in his set, he identified each of his runes with one of the 18 spells in the Havamal1 in the Elder Edda. However, there was no evidence to support his claim.

Fa

Sound: “f”Stands for: Primal FireCasting meaning: Symbolically this rune represents the power of spirit and change as well as the power of creativity.

Ur

Dorn

Sound: “th”Stands for: Lightning and ThunderCasting meaning: The rune represents the thunderbolt, but symbolically it stands for targeting goals, activity and the phallus.

Os

Sound: “o” as in “cold”Stands for: MouthCasting meaning: Os represents the spiritual power that is gained through speech. It is the breath of the world, its voice. It also signifies the strength that a person needs to rise up in power.

Rit

Sound: “r”Stands for: Ritual (or Primal Laws)Casting meaning: This rune represents the orderliness in the world, the ritual, primal law and things that are done correctly. It also stands for cynical events and rescue from an enemy.

Ka

Sound: “k”Stands for: World TreeCasting meaning: List’s version of this rune was simply for it to represent the world tree. However, more modern versions of this rune say that it stands for power, generation, ability and artfulness.

Hagal

Sound: “h”Stands for: Hail (not positive)Casting meaning: Due to its shape Hagal is sometimes called the Mother rune and is said that all other runes derive from its shape. It is a rune of enclosure but contains a potential for growth.

Not

Sound: “n”Stands for: Necessity of fateCasting meaning: This rune can be taken as the same idea as the Hindu concept of karma. What is done in this lifetime will determine our future existence.

Is

Sound: “i” as in “piece”Stands for: EgoCasting meaning: Just like our ego, this rune is one that is used to control ourselves. It represents the personal power of control, obedience and our compelling will.

Ar

Sound: “a” as in “aah”Stands for: LeadershipCasting meaning: Modern meanings of this rune are of beauty, fame, intelligence and virtue. List’s version of this rune has it representing sunlight that washes away darkness as well as having it denote nobility and leadership.

Sig

Sound: “s”Stands for: Sun PowerCasting meaning: Like Ar this rune represents the power of the sun. The difference is that Sig is the power of the sun whereas Ar is the power that the light of the sun contains. It is also a rune of success and victory.

Tyr

Sound: “t”Stands for: Rebirth of the Sun GodCasting meaning: Tyr is a rune that has the power to make situations turn completely around. A rune of wisdom, spiritual understanding, and the power of generation.

Bar

Sound: “b”Stands for: BirthCasting meaning: This rune represents birth, but in a sense of the birth of the future life that is preordained for us. Modern versions of this rune say it stands for the power of becoming as well as the power of creativity found in song.

Laf

Sound: “l”Stands for: Örlog (Primal Law)Casting meaning: List said this rune stood for the concepts of defeat and the laws of nature. Today modern versions have this rune denoting life, water and primal law.

Man

Sound: “m”Stands for: Man (as in human, not gender)Casting meaning: The second mother rune of this set, Man was used in Armanen tradition to represent birth. Modern versions say it stands for health, increase, maleness and man (gender this time).

Yr

Sound: “y” as in “tiny”Stands for: Bow (or Rainbow)Casting meaning: Modern interpreters see this as a female rune, the night, death and instinct. List said it denoted anger, falsehood, error and the oppositions found in man (as in human not gender).

Eh

Sound: “e” as in “every”Stands for: Duality (or possibly even Horse)Casting meaning: The rune Eh is said to symbolize duality where a pair is bound by primal law, love, trust and marriage.

Gibor

Sound: “g”Stands for: Gift of lifeCasting meaning: This rune represents the giver of life and both the giver and the gift of life itself. It is also the cosmic consciousness and the divine principle.

I’m no longer sure where I found the information that I’m about to present to you. It was a while back when I found it on some web page and took a closer look at the information for myself. In the Hávamál, found in the Elder Edda (or Poetic Edda) there is a section where Odin talks about the runes that he has discovered and their uses. The information below talks about the eighteen charms, their intent and the primary and supporting runes of the elder futhark in relation to that story. We can’t say for certain if the material below is accurate or not, but it is interesting enough that I think it’s worth putting on this site.

First Charm

I know spells – no king’s wife can say – and no man has mastered; – one is called “Help” – because it can comfort – the sick and careworn, – relieve all sorrows.

Intent: Help in sorrow or distressPrimary rune:FehuSupporting runes:Inguz, Laguz

Eleventh Charm

I know an eleventh: – if I lead to war – good and faithful friends, – under a shield I shout – the spell that speeds them – well they fare in the fight, – well they fare from the fight, – wherever they go they fare well.

Seventeenth Charm

I know a seventeenth, – and with that spell – no maiden will forsake me.

Intent: To keep romance in a marriagePrimary rune:GeboSupporting runes:Inguz, Ehwaz

Eighteenth Charm

I know and eighteenth – which I never tell – a maiden or any man’s wife – the best of charms – if you can chant it; – this is the last of my lay – unless to a lady – who lies in my arms, – or I’ll sing it to my sister.

Intent: Union of male and femalePrimary rune: To be discovered by the readerSupporting runes: To be discovered by the reader

The Elder Edda is a book of mythological stories of the Norse gods and goddesses and it is in here where we first see Odin learn about the runes. A story called Havamal1 or “Sayings of the High One2” tells us just how Odin first learned the runes.

Odin said:
I know that I hung on a high windy tree
for nine long nights;
pierced by a spear -Odin’s pledge-
given myself to myself.
No one can tell about that tree,
from what deep roots it rises.

They brought me no bread, no horn to drink from,
I gazed toward the ground.
Crying aloud, I caught up the runes;
finally I fell.

We see that Odin, in a shaman-like self-sacrificing ritual, deprives himself of food and drink as he hangs upside down on a tree. In some translations we are told that this tree is Yggdrasil, the Norse World Tree. As the days drag out longer and longer for him, nine nights pass and it is then when Odin sees the shapes of the runes. Crying out, he catches up the runes and falls from the tree.

The poem goes on talking about the runes and how Odin knows how to carve them for magickal uses. There are a total of eighteen runes that are listed but we never are told the names nor hinted at what they may look like. However if you believe the stories and tales of Guido List then you would tend to accept the Armanen Runes to be the runes that Odin discovered. Of course there is no evidence to even come close to supporting List’s claim as his rune set being the very first and original rune set.

If you are looking for the section in the Hávamál where it talks about Odin and the runes, it starts on the 138th stanza in the poem. Or if your poem doesn’t tell you the stanza number look for the section “The Lay of Loaddfafnir” (which starts on the 111th stanza). Skim a little ahead and you should see it.

An important part of runic knowledge can be learned by examining the mythology, sagas, and folklore of the people of Northern Europe, Iceland and even Greenland. By doing so we start to get an understanding of where the runes may have come from, how there were used and even some of the mystery and magick behind them.

For this section I have broken down the stories or myths and have given my input on how the runes come into play in that story or myth. A good place to start is to take a look at how the runes are said to have come into existence in Norse mythology. After we examine the runes in mythology we can begin to learn and understand more about how the runes were used by the people in the saga tales.